外研版英语选修八module2课文原文文档

选修八【MODULE2】TheRenaissance【READINGANDVOCABULARY】TheRenaissanceFormanypeople,theRenaissancemeans14thto16thcenturyItaly,andthedevelopmentsinartandarchitecture,musicandliterature,musicandliteraturewhichtookplacethereatthattime.Butthereisoneworkwhich,perhapsmorethananyother,expressesthespiritoftheRenaissance:theMonaLisa.Itisbelieved tobethebestexampleofanewlifelikestyleofpaintingthatamazedpeoplewhenitwasfirstused.PaintedbyLeonardodaVinciintheyears1503-1506,theMonaLisaisamysteriousmasterpiece.PeoplewanttoknowwhoMonaLisais,andwhysheissmiling.EvenifpeopledonotknowmuchabouttheRenaissance,theyhaveheardofthispainting.ButtheRenaissanceis,ofcourse,morethanjustMonaLisa.RenaissanceisaFrenchwordwhichmeans"rebirth"anditfirstappearedinEnglishinthe19thcentury.ThewordwasusedtodescribeaperiodinEuropeanhistorywhichbeganwiththearrivalofthefirstEuropeansinAmerica,anageofexploration,andthebeginningofthemodernworld.ItwasasifEuropewaswakingupafterthelongsleepoftheMiddleAges.FromItaly,theideasoftheRenaissancerapidlyspreadnorthwardstoFrench.Germany,England,andtherestofEurope.TradewithotherpartsoftheworldmeantthatEuropewasgettingricher,too.Thismeantthatpeoplehadmoneytospendonthearts;anditbecameeasierforartiststofindpeoplewhocouldaffordtobuytheirworksoremploythem.LeonardoworkedforimportantpeoplesuchastheDuckofMilan,and,towardstheendofhislife,theKingofFrance.RenaissanceartistsfoundnewideasfortheirworkinclassicalGreekandRome.Buttheylookedforward,too,byopeningnewfrontiersinthearts.Paintersdiscoveredhowtouseperspectiveandtheeffectsoflight;composersputdifferentvoicestogetherandcreatedpolyphony(“manyvoices”);architectspreferreddesigningbuildingswithmorelightwhichcontrastedwiththeheavinessoftheGothiccathedralsoftheMiddleAges.Thesenseofexplorationwhichmotivatedtheartistswenthandinhandwithanewtypeofphilosophy.AftercenturiesofacceptingamedievalworldviewinwhichhumanlifewasconsideredoflittlevaluecomparedwiththegreatnessofGod,philosophersbeganaskingquestionslike"Whatisaperson?"or"WhyamIhere?"Forthefirsttime,theyputpeople,notreligion,atthecentreoftheuniverse.TheRenaissancewasatimeof scientificinvention,too.Leonardo,aswellasbeingoneofthegreatestpainterstheworldhaseverknow,wasalsoaskilledinventor.Whereverhewent,hecarriedanotebookaroundwithhim,inwhichhewrotedownhisideas.Theyincludeddetaileddrawingsofthehumanbody,plansforengineerstobuildcanalsandbridges,andastonishingdrawingsofmachineswhichwerenottobebuiltuntilhundredsofyearslater,suchasaeroplanes,parachutes,submarinesandtanks.TowardstheendofhislifehewasemployedbytheKingofFrancetodoscientificresearch,andhedidnothavealotoftimeforpainting.Inshort,Leonardowasanextraordinarygenius,anexampleofwhathasbeendescribedas"Renaissanceman":someoneinterestedineverythingandwithmanydifferenttalents.ButevenifhisonlycontributiontohistoryhadbeentheMonaLisa,itwouldhavebeengeniusenoughforalltime.【READINGANDWRITING】ThursdayWearrivedontheovernightferrytotheHookofHollandandtookatraintoAmsterdamCentralStation.Itwasonlyashortride.It`snoteasytofindyourwayaroundthetown.Alotoftheroadsfollowthecanals,whicharen`tstraightbutareshapedlikehorseshoes.Soyoucanwalkalongastreetforhalfanhourorsoandendupfiveminutesfromwhereyoustarted.However,mostpeopledon`twalk——therearethreemillionbikesintownandagoodbusandtramsystem.Therearefortourists,theothersarehouseboatswithpeoplelivingonthem.Wespentthewholedaywalking.Tomorrowwe`regoingtorentbikes.FridayWespenttodaylookingathouses.Thearchitectureisastonishing,quitedifferentfromotherEuropeancountrieswe`vebeento.Thehousesaretallandthin,andmanyofthemhaveafantasticallyornateRenaissanceappearance.IntheMiddleAgesthehousesweremadeofwood.Then,attheendofthe15thcenturytherewasahugefireandaboutthreequartersofthetownwasdestroyed.Afterthat,housesweremadeofbrick.UnlikeotherplacesinEurope,wherehouseownersweretaxedonthesizeoftheirwindows,herethetaxesdependedonthewidthofthehouse——sotheykeptthemnarrow,butbuiltthemtall.Well,that`swhatClairesays,andshereaditintheguidebook.SaturdayWevisitedtheVanGoghMuseum,insteadofthemorefamousRijksmuseum.Itwasastonishing.Ihadn`treallylookedatanyofVanGogh`spaintingsbefore.Heseemstohavere-inventedtheart.Itdoesn`tmatterwhetherheisdoingaportraitoralandscape——he`sagenius.Inthelast70daysofhislifebeforeheshothimselfheproduced70paintings,andIreckonthey`realmostallmasterpieces.YetinallhislifeVanGoghonlyeversoldonepainting!Wemusthavespentthreehoursinthatmuseum.WhenwecameoutItoldClaireIthoughtVanGoghwasthegreatestpainterinhistory.Sheremindedmethatweweregoingtoseethemostfamouspaintingintheworld…【READINGPRACTICE】ThePuzzleoftheMonaLisaTheMonaLisaisthesubjectofmanystories,butthereisoneanecdotewhichremainsapuzzle.IsthepaintingintheLouvretheauthenticworkbyLeonardodaVinci……orjustacopy?Thestorybeganonedayin1911whensomeonenoticedtheMonaLisawasmissing.Aspokesmansaid,"Theburglarlefttheantiqueframeandtheglassbehind.Hemusthavegonethroughthebasementtothemaincourtyard.Apasserbysawamanwithamoustache,carryingaparcelunderhisarm,dashoverthestreetcrossing,alongtothecrossroads.Hethenfleddownasideroad.We`reappealingtoanyonewhosawthesuspecttocontactus."SowhostoletheMonaLisa?AndWhy?NewsaboutthelossoftheMonaLisawascirculatedinalltheFrenchnewspapers,andtherewasawidespreadsearchfortheburglaralloverthecountry.Thepolicesaid,"Wedon`tthinktheburglarwasworkingalone.We`reseekingagangofcriminals."Twoyearslater,amanwithamoustachewenttoanartdealerinFlorenceinItalyandmadeatentativeattempttoselltheMonaLisa.Theartdealercheckedit,agreeditwasauthentic……andthencalledthepolice.Whydidtheburglar,VincenzoPerugia,waitsolong？PerugiahadstolentheMonaLisaonbehalfofthechieforganiserofthecrime,EduardodeValfierno.ButPerugiamadeafundamentalmistake.HetrusteddeValfiernotopayhimforthepainting.ThedrawbackforPerugiawasthatdeValfiernodidn`tinfactneedthepainting,onlythenewsofthetheft,claimingthateachonewastheauthenticstolenpainting.Ofcourse,thefactthatthereweresixsubstituteswasconfidential.Thesixbuyersdidn`tknowabouttheotherpaintings.What`smore,deValfiernodidn`tneedtopayhisdebttoPerugia.Aftertwoyears,Perugiagottiredofwaitingtobepaid,andtriedtosellthepainting.WhentherealMonaLisaturnedupinFlorence,deValfiernosimplytoldhisbuyersthatitwasmerelyacopy.TheoutcomeofthestoryisthatPerugiagottheblameforthecrimeandwenttoprison.DeValfiernoremainedatlibertyfortherestofhislife.Butthereisstillapuzzle.TherewereanumberofprecisecopiesoftheMonaLisapaintedbygiftedstudentsofLeonardodaVinci.Partofthepainting`sfascinationiswhethertheoneintheLouverwadauthentic…evenbeforeitwasstolen.AndifPerugiastoleacopy…whowastheauthenticMonaLisa?【CULTURALCORNER】PrintingPrintingistheprocessofmakingmanycopiesofasingledocumentusingmovablecharactersorletters.InChina,printingwasknownasearlyasinthe17thcentury,duringtheTangDynasty;inEurope,itwasanimportantpartoftheRenaissance.Printingansweredaneedbecausepeoplewerethirstyforknowledge.Beforeprintingwasinvented,copiesofamanuscripthadtobemadebyhand,usuallyonanimalskins.Thiswasadifficulttaskthatcouldtakemanyyears,andwhichmadeitpossibletoproducemorecopiesinafewweeksthancouldhavebeenproducedinalifetimewrittenoutbyhand.ItisbelievedthataGerman,JohannGutenberg,madethefirstprintingpressinEurope.Headapteditfromthemachinesfarmersusedtosqueezeoilfromolives.Itusedpaper,whichwasmoresuitableforprinting(andcheaper)thananimalskins.Paper,likeprinting,hadbeeninventedmuchearlierinChinaandithadfounditswaytoEurope,viasoutheastAsiaandthenIndia.Bythe10thcenturyAD,paperwasbeingproducedinBaghdad.ThefirstpapermillinEuropewasbuiltattheendofthe12thcentury.ThefirstbookthatGutenbergproducedwasaBible.ButastheideasoftheRenaissancedeveloped,sodidthedemandfortheGreekandLatinclassics,whichhadbeenlargelyignoredforupto2,000years.Peoplealsowantedbooksintheirownlanguages.Theinventionofprintingmeantthatthisdesirecouldbesatisfied.SoontherewereprintingpressesallovernorthernEurope.In1476WilliamCaxtonsetuphisownpressinLondon,andEnglandbecameoneofthemostimportantcentresoftheprintingindustry.Thisspreadofprintedbooksledtoarenewedpassionforartisticexpression.Withoutthedevelopmentoftheprintingpress,theRenaissancemayneverhavehappened.Withoutinexpensiveprintingtomakebooksavailabletoalargesectionofsociety,thesonofJohnShakespeare,agovernmentofficialinruralEnglandinthemid-1500s,mayneverhavebeeninspiredtotakeupwritingasaprofession.WhatwesterncivilizationgainedfromGutenberg`scontributionisimpossibletocalculate.